CO-Horts

CO-Horts

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Plantin' in the Rain I'm Plantin' in the Rain

Posted by: Curtis Utley Jefferson County Extension

While a reality or drudgery
in many parts of the US, the opportunity to plant in the rain is a luxury not
often possible in Colorado. The benefits of being able to plant at the
beginning of a rainstorm are many. Purchased potted plants require some root
manipulation before planting.

Container plant root ball

You must either cut the outer inch of the
rootball off to prevent the continuation of circling roots or you must tease
the rootball apart so you can lay the root system out carefully into the planting
hole.

Digging planting hole

This all takes time and plant roots are extremely sensitive to dry air
which is common in Colorado. By planting in a rainstorm you afford yourself
some time to tease the root system out of the ball and provides a larger window
of time to adjust the root system in the planting hole as you layer in the
backfill soil.

Laying out the root system

Close-up of root system re-orientation

In dryer times if too much time is taken in transplanting
transplant shock can occur when the root system desiccates. Drought stress may
also occur as the water demand by the leaves for transpiration is not met.
These stress factors are greatly avoided when planting during a rain shower
because the root system doesn't desiccate and the leaves of the plant are not
actively transpiring water to cool themselves when raindrops are falling.

I found three Jostaberry plants for a song at a local garden center and bought them with excited anticipation of jam in my future.

Rain
can also help settle the soil around the root system. It is not advisable to
plant after a lot of rain has fallen because the soil has the potential to
become compacted as you plant. When the soil particles are well lubricated it's
best to stay off of the soil to avoid destroying soil structure, but at the
beginning of a rainstorm, before the soil is saturated is a great time to install new plants in your
garden. It may not be the most comfortable time for you to be out in the garden
but gardening is a labor of love and if you can establish new plants when they
are less stressed you will have more gardening success. Keep in mind that Colorado rain
events can be intermittent or short at best.

Watering to settle the soil around the root system

In this situation it is still
advisable to water in your newly planted plants to allow the soil to settle
around the root system. If air pockets remain around the root system of your
new plants, the roots can still desiccate and the plant will not thrive.